Trade talks between Mexico and the US continue, as the parties strive to remove trade barriers. This issue is of great importance for the future of economic relations between the two countries.
Redaksiya reports that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and US President Donald Trump have agreed to extend the upcoming trade deadline by "several weeks" to discuss outstanding issues with Washington. Sheinbaum stated at her daily morning press conference that she "wanted to make sure that November 1st arrives and we agree that our teams are still working," adding that the two countries are trying to resolve 54 open trade barriers.
In early October, Sheinbaum stated that Mexico was confident of reaching a favorable trade agreement with the US and planned to present new advancements in electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, drones, and artificial intelligence laboratory projects. In July, the US had agreed to suspend for 90 days the increase of tariffs on some Mexican goods up to 30 percent (from 25 percent), at a time when the two countries were continuing talks aimed at achieving a new trade agreement. This pause was supposed to end this week. Mexico has largely been protected from the Trump administration's tariffs thanks to the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The trade agreement, which will be reviewed next year, serves as a significant defense mechanism for Mexico.
Last week, when asked how Mexico would react and whether Mexico would hold separate talks with Canada, Sheinbaum replied, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Trump, last week, stated that the White House had suspended trade talks with Canada, citing dissatisfaction with the progress of the negotiations. Sheinbaum said, "We continue to work, and in the near future, there can be no special tariffs on November 1st." Following Sheinbaum's statements, the Mexican peso strengthened by 0.29 percent against the US dollar, rising to 18.38.